Just a Quiet Day

Today has been quiet, I was able to make a couple cards this morning before I started my chores.  My sister is visiting from SC; her bedroom is my "photo" room, so you'll have to be content to see these photographed on my (very) messy craft table.  Nothing special, just playing with a few new things.....we visited my dad yesterday, and as we were traveling, I was able to put together my new SU stamp sets, and of course, we know how itchy we get to play with them!

The first one uses Love You Much and the new SU organdy ribbon--it is not like the old ribbon!  It has a satin center, and is much heavier and sturdier--really, really nice!

It also uses a new jumbo wheel, Friendly Words, which I stamped and embossed in white.  It complements one of my favorite new sets, Friends 24-7, which I used on this card:

This is such a pretty image, and stamped over top of the filigree element, I just love it even more.  These were really quick cards, as I needed to get them in the mail TODAY....I always do things under pressure, it seems, so there aren't many layers or embellishments.  Both cards used DP from either Prints or Patterns, can't remember which!  The image above was stamped in Stazon black and colored with a blender pen and ink.  TFL! 

On a personal note:  I am having a pity party this afternoon.  I always have a short haircut, but today I tried a new hairdresser--went in armed with a cute photo---and came out BUTCHERED.  I think my DH has more hair than I do.  Honestly, I cried like a blubbering baby in my sister's arms when I walked in the door.  You know how cute Mary Fish's hair is?  Well, that's not it.  I called on the way home, and DH says he'll still love me no matter what it looks like.   And when people say, "Oh, it will grow in!", that is no consolation....my hair grows VERY SLOWLY.  Really. I thought I was going to throw up it was so bad.  So anyway, I have rewashed it, tried to push it around on my head, but there's just not much there to work with.  So you won't be seeing any photos of me in the near future.  My only consolation is that I won't need to spend any money on haircuts for, oh, the next six months at least!  And I know God loves me for what I look like on the inside, not the outside!  Have a good Saturday!

Tote Purse Note Cards

I need a gift for this weekend, and I have wanted to make this little tote purse since I saw it on Tammy's blog here.  The original design for this can be seen here at Inky Doodles.  As Tammy says, her directions are very good, so I won't reinvent the wheel---just check Tracy's tutorial out!  Tammy's is also much more elaborate than mine---I didn't do a lot of stamping on mine because I needed to finish it fairly quickly.  So here it is:

The tote opens up and holds cards and envelopes in a clear box that has been cut in half.  The note cards and tote both use retired Paris in the Spring DP and a monogram using Justrite's Special Occasions font in Perfect Plum.  The image on the front is from Say it with Scallops in Pink Pirouette.  My cardstock choices are So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum and Whisper White.  The front DP panel was stamped with the swirl from Baroque Motifs and the envelope was stamped with the flourish from Friends 24-7, which I just received and LOVE!  I can't wait to play with it some more! 

Here's a side view of the tote itself.  I think if you click on it, it will enlarge!

I also used a MS border punch, SU's Scallop circle & square punches, 1 1/4" circle punch, Designer label punch, gingham ribbon and twill from Taylored Expressions, along with a bridal flower RAK (thanks, Denise) that I daubered and some bling.  The closure has a couple of little magnets to hold it together.  It was a fun project, and I also will be including a pen and a pack of stamps so the recipient can sit down and write her thank-you notes and mail them out promptly!!!  Thanks for visiting today!

Be More Pacific....

Pacific Point, that is!  I had a productive day today, but didn't really stamp something for "fun" until late afternoon.  Then, after taking about 20 "staged" photos, I finally gave up and took a picture on my messy stamp table--so what you see is what you get!  This uses yesterday's SCS Color Challenge, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze & Garden Green.  So many beautiful samples out there, I just had to make a real quick one of my own to get the feel of the colors!  I just received a SU order today and in it was my 12x12 textured In Color cardstock!  So that's what I reached for to make this 3x6" card:

Nothing really spectacular; I used the Scallop Square punch to make an embellishment for my little birds from the "Love You Much" stamp set.  I colored the birdies with a blender pen & ink, then punched them out with an extra large oval punch.  The heart was punched with the heart punch; the sentiment is from Pocket Silhouettes, and was punched out with the small oval punch.  I added some white gel pen dots (I need some work on making dots!) here and there, and it was done!  I think I need to color in their beaks though...missed that!  Thanks for visiting!

• Stamps:  Love You Much, Pocket Silhouettes
• Paper:  Pacific Point Textured, WW, Garden Green, Baja Breeze
• Ink:  Baja Breeze, Stazon Black, Pacific Point, Garden Green
• Acc:  Blender Pens, Small & Extra Large Oval Punches, Scallop Square Punch, white gel pen

Awards!!!

 

I have gotten this beautiful award from three of my blogging/stamping friends, so I thought I should probably pass it along!  It came from Lisa, Kim and Dahlene!  Thanks so much girls!  Here are the details about passing it along!

 

1)    Post the award(s) logo on your blog

2)    Add the link to the person who nominated you

3)    Nominate 10 other blogs & post their links

4)    Let those people know that they have received the award

I don't really have time to pick out ten---it was hard enough to pick out the seven that I came up with---I look at a LOT of blogs!  So here they are:

• Dani at Stampin' With Dani
• Tracey at A Stamper's Touch
• Libby at Libby's Little Addiction
• Maria at Scraps by M
• Mercy at Lord Have Mercy!
• Ilse at Handmade with Love
• Cindy at Encre, Papier, Ciseaux

There are some really creative stampers out there, so be sure to check out their blogs!  Hopefully I'll be able to create something today myself!

Color Throwdown 27!!

Yahoo, another week and another challenge!  Isn't that banner just the cutest?  So many possibilities for this color combo! 

I really wanted to do a gingham theme, so I printed out some digital DP from My Favorite Things, searched my stamp stash and this is what I came up with:

I am sure that my DH the sailor would point out all the faults of this little boat!  Oh well!  I used the base of the sailboat from Nursery Necessities, and cut the sails freehand, using the basic shape of the stamp's sails.  Before I adhered them to some cardstock for stability, I stitched around the edges with some floss.  The "ocean" is two layers of Brocade Blue, CB'd with Swiss Dots.  I found some retired SU star eyelets and added one to the flag on the mast.  I probably could have added some more embellishments, but I didn't want to make it too busy!

We would love to have you play along with our challenge; you might even join the ranks of our Featured Stamper by having your creation chosen from all the submissions!  Post your card on your blog or an online gallery like Splitcoast or Paper Planet, then link it back to the Color Throwdown Blog.  Be sure to use the keyword CTD27 so we can find them easily!  And lets see what the others came up with this week:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs

Thanks for visiting and hope you can play along with us!

• Stamps:  Nursery Necessities
• Paper:  Brocade Blue, Real Red, Basic Black, WW, Gingham Digital from MFT
• Ink:  Real Red, Stazon Black, Craft White
• Acc:  Star Eyelets, CAD, Star Punch, CB folder, fabric, needle & floss, daubers, dimensionals

A Smattering of Cards....

Just a few quick cards today. Hopefully the weather will force me to stay home tomorrow and I can play in my stamp room!

This one uses the color challenge from NMBS, and the sketch from Mojo Monday #71 again, but on a smaller scale:

This looks much better IRL! The shimmery white paper just doesn't "shimmer" in the photo! I also needed a VERY quick sympathy card for a customer who is dealing with lots of elderly family issues!

You just cannot get much easier than this! I used old and new sets on this---Little Shapes for the old, and my new PTI Quilter's Sampler Sentiments for the new, along with Pocket Silhouettes. Not sure of the color combo here, but with those little flecks in the paper, I thought I could get away with the Close to Cocoa. And finally, I thought I would share some cards I got in the mail today from customers and friends:

This is a sweet card from Beth. She always does beautiful work, and look, she used Little Shapes, too! Cute sentiment and her little hearts are all punched and attached with a cute little heart brad!

This beauty is from Debbie--she has been hiding her talent from me! I think this is the first card I have ever received from her and how sweet this is! She has lots of details and the nice spring colors really brought a smile to my face! Thanks to both of you!

Don't forget, tomorrow is Color Throwdown day, so be sure to check back to see what the challenge is!!

• Stamps for Friend card: Fresh Cuts, Simply Said
• Paper: Baja Breeze, Shimmery White, Basic Black
• Ink: Stazon, Baja Breeze
• Acc: Grosgrain ribbons, Aquapainter, Reinker, dimensionals

• Stamps for Sympathy card: Little Shapes, Pocket Silhouettes, Quilter's Sampler Sentiments, PTI
• Paper: Confetti White
• Ink: Almost Amethyst, Palette Noir, Close to Cocoa
• Acc: Corner Rounder, Twill from Taylored Expressions

Pacific Polka Dots

Okay, I am on a roll here with messing up challenges--not looking at the sketches, not paying attention to the directions----gee whizzies!  So hopefully this one is right!  The NMBS blog challenge is for black, white & one color--and ribbon not in a bow.  So here we go again.......

I NEVER use Pacific Point; I love blue, but this one is just too difficult to pair with another color, so I decided to try it with just the black & white.  I am not real crazy about the three flowers on the right.....but at this point I was not going to redo!  I stamped the Polka Dot Punches flowers in Stazon black & watercolored them with some PP ink, them punched them out.  The sentiment is from Crazy for Cupcakes.  Cosmo Glitter added some zing to the centers.  The black ribbon makes the "stem".  I hope this is the only place in my house that my flowers have black stems!!!  I think this would be easy enough to do at a workshop, so I'll keep the basic layout and play around with it some more!  TFL!

• Stamps:  Polka Dot Punches, Crazy for Cupcakes
• Paper:  WW, Basic Black, Pacific Point
• Ink:  Stazon Black, Pacific Point
• Acc:  Corner Rounder Punch, Black Grosgrain, 5-Petal Punch, Cosmo Glitter, Dimensionals
  

Mojo Cardinal

For today's Mojo Monday sketch, I decided to use a RAK I got from my friend Barb--the cardinal from SU's past mini. I know this seems like a Christmas card, and maybe that's what I'll use it for, but then again, it would make a nice winter birthday card too:

Pretty self-explanatory; the image was stamped on watercolor paper and I colored it with my aquapainter and various inks. I realize now (what is wrong with me lately?!) that I took some artistic license and moved the right center panel down to the lower right! Just seemed to look better there....maybe I'll do another one the "correct" way. Sorry, Mojo sketch!! The sentiment is from Fresh Cuts and is mounted in a Vanilla HPH frame, embellished with a couple branch punches from my MS punch. There is a ribbon at the top of the black panel, it's hard to see!

• Stamps: A Cardinal Christmas, Fresh Cuts
• Paper: WW, Watercolor, Basic Black, Old Olive, Bella Rose DP, Ski Slope DP
• Ink: Stazon, Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
• Acc: Grosgrain ribbon, Vanilla HPH, Small Oval Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1" Circle Punch, MS Branch Punch, Gelly Roll Pen
  

Cards for Friends

Well, I guess most of my cards are for friends, huh?  Well, sometimes they're for family, but today, these are for friends!  My first card was supposed to be for the NMBS challenge, but I was in a hurry and didn't read the rules properly, so it's a no-go!  But I still love it, so I am posting it anyway. 

 

We were supposed to use black, white and one color; and use ribbon in any way but tying a bow!  Ooops!  This is for our friend who very graciously bought us delicious crabcakes from Woody's Crab House in Northeast, Md, and had dinner with us for our anniversary!  She just lost her mom and her dad is in the hospital, but yet, she still thinks of everyone but herself!  So this is for her! 

And this is for a dear friend who just shared a difficult testimony today at church.  The inside reads: "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!"  This card uses the sketch from Our Creative Corner.  I am pretty sure I got this one right!  I really stretched myself using BOWS on both of these cards!!  LOL!  Thanks for visiting today!

Friend Card:

• Stamps:  All Holidays, Best Wishes & More
• Paper:  WW, Real Red, Basic Black
• Ink:  Stazon Black, Real Red
• Acc:  Curly Label Punch, Tool Kit, Red Gingham Ribbon, Dimensionals

Always Card:

• Stamps:  Always, Polka Dot Punches
• Paper:  WW, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Always DP
• Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose
• Acc:  Scallop Punch, Circle Punches, Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals

Too Busy!

This has been a busy week, so I don't have a lot to share with you, just a couple simple things for some friends going through some difficult times.  I think that is why I started making cards, because I always liked to send an encouraging note to someone when they were down!

This is for a friend whose best friend just passed away.  It features a shell from a retired SU set, Beautiful Beach, and Everyday Blessings from PTI.  She is a very non-fussy, non-frilly girl, so this is my subdued card for her.

 

 

 

This is for another friend who needs some surgery!  The image was a RAK from my friend Jen which I colored and then mounted on some BG Lily Kate paper that had been stamped with a flower image from Petal Prints, again retired SU.

 

Finally, I like to make cards for my future hostesses using hostess sets, so here is one I made using "A Little Somethin'":

Still playing with Raspberry Tart, and I always go back to this layout when I want to highlight several different patterns!  It is a quick, easy card to make, too, when you use punches for your squares.  I had to use a Nestability for the circles, but I did use the tool kit punch for my row of "dots" along the left edge!

Thanks for visiting!  Hopefully I can play some challenges this weekend--right now I am gonna take a nap!!!

Sweet Sunday Sketch #1

I know, it's not Sunday, but I was blurfing and found this sweet sketch from "the sweetest thing" via Nancy Riley's blog:

I got some new toys today, some punches and DP, so I decided to play.  I had my DP cut to the proportions shown here, then decided to punch the edges with my MS eyelet punch.  It went downhill from there!  That messed up my proportions, but I didn't want to waste the paper, so I went with it anyway! 

I was rather surprised at how "bright" the SU Raspberry Tart DP is---it is more of an unripe strawberry color to me--but again, I went with it!  I wanted to use the new Sellabration set, Polka Dot Punches, but they were too big to put three flowers on, so I only used two!  I punched them with my new 5-petal flower punch, but trimmed them down and mounted them on some solid cardstock and added some leaves with the same punch.  Talk about creative license!  I hope it's all okay!  I will need to get used to this paper--it is bold, to say the least! 

• Stamps:  Best Yet (ret), Polka Dot Punches
• Paper:  WW, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Raspberry Tart DP
• Ink:  Cameo Coral, Ruby Red
• Acc:  MS pucnh, Taffeta Ribbon, Curly Label Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, 1/2" circle punch, dimensionals, dauber

Color Throwdown Challenge #26

Another week, another wonderful selection of fabulous cards all you stampers have been submitting!  It is such fun to see how creative you all are!  This week, Broni has chosen a fun trio of colors:

Just looking at the swatch Kisa did for us makes me want to smile!!!  Maybe somebody will take those little snails and make a card with them (hint,hint!).  I had a piece of Basic Black cardstock from another project that had already been run through my Swiss Dots CB folder, so I used that as my starting point for my little 4 1/4" square card:

Although it is hard to see, the little dots are there!  I used a nice outline daisy from Gina K's Flowers for Daisy set, stamped in Stazon on Shimmery White cardstock and watercolored with my aquapainters.  The base has been stamped with Tres Chic and the Pink Passion panel stamped with the lovely Floral, now sadly retired.  I added some ribbon & button trim--from this angle, the button seems to overpower the card, but how about here:

Funny how a different photo gives a different perspective!

 

 

 

 

Anyway, let's see what you can come up with this week!  If you have a blog, you can link your project in the comments screen on the CTD blog, or if you want to post it on an online gallery like Splitcoast or Paper Planet, use the keyword CTD26.  Just be sure to let us know that you've participated!  Now let's see what the other CTD girls have come up with:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs

And make sure to check out this week's Featured Stamper- you can see her card here.  Who knows...next week, you could be our next Featured Stamper!

• Stamps:  Flowers for Daisy, Gina K;  Floral (ret), Tres Chic
• Paper:  Kraft, Pink Passion, Basic Black, Shimmery White
• Ink:  Stazon, Creamy Caramel, Pink Passion
• Acc:  Reinkers, Marker, Taffeta & Gingham Ribbon, button, Nesties, CB Swiss Dots folder, dimensionals, aquapainter

It's a busy month in the accounting world, so if I don't post every day, don't panic!  I am around, just wearing a different hat!  Have a great day!

Snowy Happy Monday

Wow, I am so happy today---it finally is snowing here in southeastern PA!  Just a light snow, but I have nowhere to go, a nice cup of chai tea with a plunk of nofat French Vanilla creamer and I am a happy stamper!

I have a few things to share today! I made some thank you cards for some special people:

This uses the Sketch Challenge from Papercraft Planet for this past Saturday, as well as the SCS Color Challenge from Tuesday:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze & Kraft. Love it!  I turned the sketch on its side to be able to use the sentiment from Flight of the Butterfly.

• Stamps:  Flight of the Butterfly
• Paper:  Not Quite Navy, WW, Baja Breeze, Patterns Hostess Pack
• Ink:  Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, White Craft
• Acc:  White EP, Nesties, SAJ, Taffeta Ribbon, Heat Tool

While I was at it, I made a little 3x3 card with Pocket Silhouettes for a little gift I had to give out:

This uses Urban Garden DP and textured Basic Gray cardstock as the base.   Quick & easy!

• Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes
• Paper:  Text. Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden DP
• Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
• Acc:  Large Oval Punch

Finally, a couple more challenges:  the Mojo Monday#70 Sketch Challenge as well as the OCC Technique Challenge, which is emboss resist.  I just realized I forgot a panel on the sketch challenge---OH WELL!  Maybe I will take care of it later---meanwhile the ribbon can be my panel!  Here it is:

Edited to add:  Here is my "new" card---I tucked another panel of Urban Prairie under the original one:

This will brighten up a snowy Monday afternoon!  Thanks for visiting and come back again!

• Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes, Mixed Messages, PTI
• Paper:  So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black, Regal Rose, WW, Urban Prairie DP
• Ink:  Craft Basic Black, Regal Rose
• Acc:  Nesties, Urban Prairie Brad, Black Grosgrain, Just My Type CB folder, Dimensionals

Blindingly Bright PB Teen Challenge

I haven't done a SCS inspiration challenge for a long time, but I had a quick few minutes in between "events" today so I threw this card together:

This is a little outside my normal realm of card-making, but it is a challenge, after all!   It is just so BRIGHT!  We were to make something inspired by Pottery Barn Teen, so this was my inspiration piece:

This is called the "Pom Pom Organic Pillow Cover".  I knew I had some pink pom poms around for a project I never did, so I stuck them on a card and added an embellishment and a sentiment and called it done!  I only wish the end of my pom pom piece was a little neater/straighter.  Might have to do some adjusting on that!  But it was quick and that's what I needed today!
Thanks for visiting!

• Stamps:  Polka Dot Posies (ret), Best Yet, Holiday Blitz
• Paper:  Pixie Pink, Whisper White
• Ink:  Pixie Pink
• Acc:  Pom poms, Rhinestones, Large Oval Punch, Dimensionals

Lucky Thirteen--A Winner!

I have nothing to post today as I will be away, but I do have a winner of my blog candy!
Karen said:
"I broke my leg skating while my parents were packing to move us in to base housing in England trying to stay out of the way! Congrats on your 1 year Blogoversary!"
Unfortunately, I don't have an email address for Karen, so Karen, if you're reading this, you're my winner! Please send me your information so you can receive your candy!

Have a wonderful day!

Sneak Peek Samples

Here is a quick post of some quick samples I made for my Open House.  These are from either the Valentine Bundle set, or A Little Somethin' Hostess set. 

(Pretend this is full of pink & red M&Ms!!!)

 

 

And here is my last simple one, not new, but it was pretty, so I added it in!

Gotta run!  If anyone wants recipes or details, email me! Have a great Friday and stay warm!

Flourishes Celebrating Home Challenge

There's a lovely challenge going on at the Flourishes blog called "Celebrating Home". The challenge is to make a card inspired by something in your home. You can read about it on their blog, here.

My inspiration piece is a metal embossed container that carries me through many seasons of decorating. I used a CB folder and wiped my Sahara Sand pad over the inside and then embossed a piece of Naturals White cardstock and added an image from a new SU Hostess Set, A Little Somethin'.

I love this color combo of Sahara Sand and Pirouette Pink--very calming. (I am in need of calm lately!). I inked the image in Sahara Sand, colored over the flowers with my Regal Rose markers, then "huffed" and stamped to get this pretty soft effect. A little Button Bouquet button and some taffeta & gingham ribbon finished it off. I am quite upset that SU is retiring this pink gingham ribbon; not only is it great for baby cards, but other cards, as you can see here! Pout, pout.

Thanks for visiting today, hopefully I'll have some Open House samples tomorrow!

• Stamps: A Little Somethin'
• Paper: Sahara Sand, Pirouette Pink, Naturals White
• Ink: Sahara Sand
• Acc: CB folder, Nesties, Taupe Taffeta Ribbon, Pink Gingham Ribbon, Button Bouquet, Dimensionals

Color Throwdown #25

 

This is week 25 of the Color Throwdown Challenge and to be honest, when I saw Tammy's color challenge, I got very nervous & panicky.  I just could not see how I was going to combine these colors!  

So I went rummaging through some of my sets that had been neglected lately and eventually an idea peeked through!  CHF's The Shoe Boutique was one of those sets I just had to have, and I think I have used it twice.  I hadn't even cut out most of the pieces yet!  I pulled out some DP to match the challenge colors and this is what I came up with:

Aren't these sentiments cute?  I stamped this on the inside, using Going Gray as the color for the "background" shoe.  This is going to be for a special friend who is having a birthday real soon!!! 

Each shoe is stamped on SU DP and mounted on a piece of Baja Breeze that I ran through the Swiss Dots CB folder.  I added a little rhinestone to each shoe, I wish they were clearer in the picture, they're so fun!  I added the black accents for a little "sophistication"!!! 

So I hope that you can play along with this week's Challenge, too!  If you have a blog, you can link your project in the comments screen on the CTD blog, or if you want to post it on an online gallery, use the keyword CTD25.  Now let's see what the other CTD girls have come up with:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs

And make sure you check out the Featured Stamper from last week's Challenge--it'll "crack" you up!!!  And who knows...you could be our next Featured Stamper!

• Stamps:  The Shoe Boutique, CHF
• Paper:  WW, Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Haiku, Manchester & Riding Hood Red Patterns Dp
• Ink:  Stazon Black, Going Gray
• Acc:  Rhinestones (misc sources), Swiss Dots CB folder, Baja Breeze Stitched Ribbon, Black Grosgrain Ribbon